Villa plays as a Spanish international and made his debut for the team against San Marino in 2005. He has since participated in two major tournaments: 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup and was top scorer at Euro 2008 with four goals. He is the second top scorer of all time for Spain behind only Raul González.[3] Statistics (based on goal importance and the tournement they were scored in) demonstrate Villa to be the most prolific goalscorer in the world between 2005–2009, seeing the back of the net over 156 times,[4] while The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) listed him 4th in the "World's Top Goal Scorer 2009" rankings.[5] Villa has two children with his wife Patricia and often attends charity events supported by sports personalities.

Childhood and early career

David Villa was born on 3 December 1981, the son of a miner,[6] in Tuilla, a small village in Langreo, Asturias, a region in northern Spain. His professional career was put in jeopardy when he suffered a fracture to his femur, but made a complete recovery.[7]

Due to the injury to his right leg, he and his father José Manuel Villa worked on strengthening his left leg and he ultimately became an ambidextrous footballer.[8] He recalls his father being consistently supportive: "He would be there throwing me the ball over and over, making me kick it with my left leg when my right was in plaster after breaking it, I was four. I can barely remember a single training session when my dad wasn't there. I have never been alone on a football pitch."

Villa admitted that he came close to giving up football at the age of 14 after growing disillusioned and falling out with his coach. However, thanks to his parents' encouragement, he persisted in pursuing his dream, realising his talent could earn him a living.[6] "In those days I was a nobody, not earning a penny and after being made to sit on the bench all season I just wanted to get away and play with my friends" he said. "But my dad always supported me and cheered me up until my career turned round."[6][9] He went on to begin his footballing career at UP Langreo and when he turned 17 he joined the Mareo football school.[8]

Club career

Sporting de Gijón and Real Zaragoza

Villa attracted interest from many Asturian teams, but one of the province's bigger teams, Real Oviedo, declared that he was too short[10] and that they did not believe he had sufficient potential.[11] He subsequently got his professional breakthrough at his local club Sporting de Gijón, following in the footsteps of his childhood idol Quini.[8] Starting out at the team's youth ranks, he made his first-team debut in the 2000–01 season. After scoring 25 goals in two seasons, he became a first team regular.[11] Pepe Acebal, the Sporting Gijon manager at the time, said that Villa initially lacked the stamina to have a real impact and had to be given his chance bit by bit and that Villa's capacity for work was "unrivalled".[10]

"He had great technical qualities. His first touch was superb and, although you can never be sure someone will make it, you could tell he was talented. He makes very clever diagonal runs, breaking away from defenders, and he invariably made the right decisions. He is very intuitive."

With his goal tally nearly reaching 40 goals after spending two full seasons in Gijón's main team,[12] Villa ultimately got his chance in Spain's top-flight when Sporting were in financial difficulty and newly promoted Real Zaragoza signed him for approximately €3million in the summer of 2003.[9][11] The striker had no trouble adapting to playing at the higher level, netting 17 times in his first season at Zaragoza.[4] His league debut came during Zaragoza's first La Liga game since his arrival where the team were defeated 1–0 away from home at the hands of Galician side Deportivo de La Coruña[13] while his first goal came two games later, an eighth minute goal against Real Murcia which put Zaragoza 2–0 up in a match which ended 3–0.[14] 4 December 2003 saw him net his first brace (2 goals) in a 2–2 draw against Athletic Bilbao[15] and on 25 April 2004, David Villa scored his first hat-trick in a tight 4–4 draw against Sevilla FC which saw Villa score all four of Zaragoza's goals, putting his team ahead on two occasions.[16]

Zaragoza reached the 2004 Copa del Rey final where he played a big part in the team's victory, scoring a crucial goal to put the Aragonese outfit 2–1 up against Real Madrid in a match which eventually ended 3–2. Soon after he earned his first international call-up and cap which resulted in Zaragoza fans becoming so proud of his achievements, they invented the football chant "illa illa illa, Villa maravilla" which is a play on the words "Villa" and "maravilla" which is as "marvel" but can also mean "wonderful" or "great" in that context.[8] After Zaragoza's triumph in the Copa del Rey, they were granted a place in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup; this was Villa's first time playing in a European competition.[17]

In the team's opening group game against FC Utrecht, Villa netted a brace in the dying minutes of the game which subsequently ended 2–0 in Zaragoza's favour. In the round of 16, Zaragoza faced Austria Wien. The first leg ended 1–1, Villa scored in the second leg, however, the match ended 2–2 which saw the team from Vienna go through to the next stage on the away goals rule.[18] Meanwhile, in La Liga, Villa excited Zaragoza fans on 23 September 2004 by putting the team 1–0 up against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, however, it was not to be as Barcelona came back to win the game 4–1.[19] On 17 April 2005, Villa scored a brace which helped see off Sevilla in a 3–0 victory.[20]

Valencia

2005–06 season

After his success at Zaragoza, the team were in need of money,[9] as a result, Villa made his big move to one of Spanish football's heavyweights, as a new look Valencia under Quique Sánchez Flores parted with €12 million to secure his services in the summer of 2005.[12] During his first game in a Valencia shirt, an Intertoto Cup match against Belgian outfit K.A.A. Gent, Villa scored the first goal in a game which Valencia won 2–0.[21] He made his league debut for Valencia coming on as a substitute against Real Betis in a 1–0 win on 27 August 2005.[22] The next match would see his previous team, Real Zaragoza, leading 2–1 for the majority of the match, however, on the 81st minute, Villa came on as a late substitute for Rubén Baraja and scored the equalizer within the space of a minute, earning Valencia a point as the game ended 2–2.[23]

On 21 September, Villa would once again save Valencia a vital point by netting a brace against Barcelona at Camp Nou, actually giving his team the lead at one point after Víctor Valdés' clearance rebounded off Villa's back and into the net.[24][25] On 23 October, Villa scored the winning goal against another Spanish giant, this time Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium[26] and would once again score against Barcelona, on 12 February 2006, his one goal proving enough to secure all three points in a 1–0 victory.[27] Villa scored a goal against Deportivo de La Coruña (at the Riazor on 4 February 2006), described as "superb" by ESPN and "his best" by Sid Lowe who went on to credit it even more pointing out he achieved it "on the turn"[10]. Hitting the ball from the half way line (50 yards out) it sailed over the keepers head and into the net.[28]

He scored his first hat-trick for Valencia against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés in La Liga on the 23 April 2006. Villa managed the hat-trick in just over five minutes (80th to the 85th minute) making it one of the quickest hat-tricks ever recorded. Valencia won that game 0–3.[6] That season saw him score 25 goals in 35 league matches for Valencia,[4] finishing one goal behind the league's top scorer Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona. Villa's goal tally that year was the best that any Valencia player had ever achieved since Edmundo Suárez over 60 years beforehand.[29]

2006–07 season

Villa's form continued into the 2006–07 season, with the striker forming a partnership up front with former Real Madrid star Fernando Morientes. Between them, Villa and Morientes netted 43 goals in all competitions.[4][30] That year also saw Villa debut in the UEFA Champions League; his first match was a qualifying match, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 first leg loss against FC Red Bull Salzburg. He went on to start the second leg and scored in a 3–0 win which saw Valencia qualify for the Champions League group stages.[31] Crucial goals against Roma[32] and Shakhtar Donetsk[33] helped Valencia qualify for the knock out stages where they faced Inter Milan. Villa scored a free kick goal in the first leg away from home, while one of Inter's defenders complained that Villa had "made us look like idiots, all on his own".[10][34] Valencia went through to the quarter finals where they faced Chelsea. Villa featured in both games but failed to make the score sheet. Valencia subsequently got knocked out by the London team 3–2 on aggregate.[35] In October 2006 he was included among the 50 nominees for the Ballon d'Or (often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year Award).[36]

A crucial goal against Espanyol[37] and a brace against Sevilla[38] helped him reach 16 goals that season and would see him come 6th in La Liga's top scorer list that season (scoring the same amount of goals as fellow international Raúl Tamudo)[39] while he created more assists than anyone.[10]

2007–08 season

The 2007–08 season was not easy for Villa nor for his teammates. Early in the season, their manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, was fired and replaced by Ronald Koeman. Koeman was then fired on the 22 April, after a run of poor results, even though he managed to win a trophy with Valencia, as Valencia beat Getafe CF in the Copa del Rey-final. Koeman got replaced by the highly rated UD Almería coach, Unai Emery, at the end of the season.[40] Under Koeman, Villa managed to see the back of the net 18 times in his 26 appearances.[4][8] He also won the first professional trophy of his Valencia spell, winning the Copa del Rey for the second time in his career, beating Barcelona 3–2 in the semi-finals and then Getafe CF 3–1 in the final.[41] giving the team a place in the UEFA Cup.[8] By the end of the season he signed a new six-year contract with Valencia, committing his future to the club until 2014.[42]

That season, Villa once again saw himself playing Champions League football. He scored the only goal in a 0–1 win against Schalke 04[43] and went on to put Valencia 1–0 up against Chelsea, however, goals from Joe Cole and Didier Drogba saw Valencia lose 2–1.[44] Valencia finished bottom of the group and were knocked out. On his 100th league appearance for Valencia, Villa scored a hat-trick against Levante; his 54th, 55th and 56th league goals for the club.[45] Another two goals on the final day of the season against Atletico Madrid completed his tally of 18 goals that season.[4]

2008–09 season

After finishing as the top scorer at Euro 2008, Villa continued his form into the 2008–09 season where he scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Mallorca in what was the opening game of the season.[46] After failing to sign the player, Real Madrid manager at the time, Bernd Schuster, accused Villa of having "no ambition",[9] Villa responded by saying "Footballing ambition Is not about your mouth, It is about your feet. You can accuse me of lots of things - of having a bad day, of missing chances, of many things- but I have always had ambition and always will have. I think I have proved that on the pitch with Zaragoza, Sporting, UD Langreo, and the national team."[9] In October 2008, Kaká praised Villa, speaking to Canal+, he claimed that Villa is "the best Spanish footballer" adding that "The player with whom I would most like to play is David Villa of Valencia."[47] On 2 December 2008, Villa came 7th in the Ballon d'Or 2008 rankings[48] and on 12 January 2009, Villa was announced as the joint 9th best player of 2008 alongside international team mate and Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta, according to the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year awards.[49]

Valencia finished second in their UEFA Cup group, however, Villa was not featured heavily and was often an unused sub or a late sub.[50] He scored a late winner against Maritimo[51] and was used in the Round of 32 against Dynamo Kyiv, however, he did not make the score sheet. The two legs resulted in a 3–3 aggregate score, Dynamo Kyiv went through as the away goal rule went in their favour.[52]

Hitting a consistent goal scoring form during mid season, he scored against Deportivo de la Coruña; however, he was sent off during the match after his second yellow card, received due to a foul on Daniel Aranzubía[53] and as a result missed Valencia's next match against Real Valladolid, a game which Valencia lost 2–1 at home. Ready to return from suspension, Villa suffered from an inflammation in the joint in his left knee due to a partial dislocation and would be out for the next 15 days, missing games against Numancia, Recreativo de Huelva and Racing de Santander.[54] When he finally returned from injury on 5 April 2009, he had no trouble recovering form, netting a brace in a match against Getafe, which Valencia won 4–1.[55] On 12 April, Villa was set to return to El Molinón, the home ground of Sporting de Gijón where he started his career. He admitted that the encounter would be very emotional for him but went on to score the second Valencia goal in a 3–2 win and kept a pre-match promise by not celebrating the goal.[56] His goal against Villarreal brought his tally to 26, he then scored another two against Athletic Bilbao finishing with 28 goals after the last game of the season, thus equalling records set by the ArgentinianMario Kempes and the MontenegrinPredrag Mijatović, who also scored 28 goals in a Valencia shirt in 1978 and 1996, respectively. Kempes reached his tally of 28 goals in 34 games while Mijatović achieved it in 40, ultimately seeing Villa beat their percentages, as he achieved the 28 goals in 33 games, recording a goal ratio of 0.84 goals per game. That season saw Villa's best season at Valencia as far as goal scoring is concerned.[57]

With the season over Villa had marked his fourth year at Valencia, with only Eto'o scoring more goals than him in that period (six more).[10] British columnist Sid Lowe points out that Eto'o achieved this "in a team that racked up 129 [goals] more than Villa's side" and noted that "most of that time he [Villa] has taken Valencia's corners and free-kicks – and however good a player is he can't head in his own crosses."[10] Villa also ended the season as the third top scorer in La Liga with a total of 28 goals, just behind Samuel Eto'o (30) and Diego Forlán (32). After recording the best goal tally for a Valencia player in 60 years back in the 2005–06 season, he went three better in the 2008–09 season.[57] The 28 league goals plus 3 more in other competitions that season, acumulated a total of 101 goals in 180 official games with the Valencian outfit.[4]

2009–10 season

After the shock exit from the Confederations Cup with the Spain team, Villa returned from his holidays on 27 July, amidst much media speculation linking him with top clubs such as Real Madrid,[58]Barcelona,[59]Liverpool,[60]Chelsea,[61] and Manchester United.[62] Villa put to bed such rumours announcing his desire to remain at the Mestalla to fulfil his contract underlining that he "could not spend all summer refuting things, so I wanted to be quiet... I was told I should leave Valencia for the good of the club, soon after that everything changed and from that moment on I never saw myself out of here. There is no train missed because all that I have achieved is because of Valencia and the Spanish national team." When questioned on whether or not he should apologise to Valencia fans, he simply replied, "I did not kill anyone, I do not think I have to ask for forgiveness."[63]

On 20 August 2009, Villa scored in his first official match of the season, a 0–3 UEFA Europa League qualifer against Stabæk.[64] He followed this up with two goals against Real Valladolid on 13 September, these were Villa's first league goals of the 2009–10 season.[65] He scored twice more a week later against former club Sporting Gijón in a 2-2 draw at the Mestalla where he performed duties as the team's captain.[66] After the match, Villa hinted towards being unhappy with Unai Emery's managerial decisions, stating "The approach for the second half was not right. We relaxed and ended up with the same result as last year. What has happened, has happened, but their goalkeeper was good, unlike our approach, which was not good",[67] however, a day later he denied being critical of Emery pointing out that "When I talked about the approach, I was referring to the whole team, I spoke in the heat of the moment, I was annoyed at the way we lost two points and I said what I thought, but I have clarified everything that needed to be cleared up."[68]

On 18 October, Villa was nominated for the Ballon D'Or,[69] while nearly two weeks later, on 30 October, he was nominated for the FIFA World Player Of The Year.[70]

After going three league games without scoring, Villa ended his goal drought by contributing two goals towards Valencia's 4-1 victory against Villarreal on 17 January 2010, the first of his two goals became his 100th league goal with Valencia.[4][71] Another brace came against Getafe on 22 February 2010, the second goal being "a superb chip" (as described by ESPN) over Jordi Codina.[72]

On 18 March, Valencia went to the Weserstadion to play Werder Bremen in the Europa League. Villa scored a hat-trick, his third goal being of note, which was fired in from eight yards out. The match ended 4-4 while saw Valencia proceeded to the next round on away goals.[73]

A successful season with Valencia saw him get called up as part of the 23-man squad to represent Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain's first match at the tournement and Villa's World Cup debut resulted in a 4–0 win against Ukraine where Villa netted a brace,[75] and also put his nation 1–0 up against France in the Round of 16, although Spain went on to lose the match 3–1.[76] He and Fernando Torres finished as Spain's top scorers with three goals each.[77]

Euro 2008

By the end of 2006, Villa had become an integral part of Luis Aragonés' plans and ousted Raúl from the team.[29] Proving vital in Spain's qualification for Euro 2008, he scored six goals,[29] including a bicycle kick against Liechtenstein.[78] He was subsequently called up for the tournament where he formed a striking relationship with Torres, with whom he would often celebrate his goals.[79] He scored a hat-trick in Spain's 4–1 win over Russia, making him the first player to do so at a UEFA European Championship since Patrick Kluivert in 2000, and only the seventh overall.[80] After the third goal he went out of his way to meet Torres, who was on the bench at the time, to celebrate with him, "I had just scored a hat-trick and I knew people would be talking about me, but I wanted them to see that I had benefited from Torres's work, just as he sometimes benefits from mine. We complement each other very well. We get on well on the pitch and very well off it too. We're a good partnership. We both chase down defenders, put pressure on and fight to create chances for each other. We work well together."[9][79] In the next match, he secured a 2–1 win against Sweden with a goal in the 92nd minute. Rested for the next match against Greece, he started once again in the quarter finals where Spain beat Italy 4–2 on penalties, Villa took the first penalty and scored.[81]

Reaching their first semi-final in 24 years, Spain went on to face Russia for the second time during the tournement, however, during the early stages of the match, Villa sustained a thigh injury after taking a free kick and was replaced by Cesc Fàbregas. The injury meant that he could not participate the final where Spain beat Germany 1–0 to claim their second win at the European Football Championships. Despite missing the final and the majority of the semi-final, Villa's 4 goals in the 4 games he played were enough for him to be top scorer of the tournament[79] and was awarded the Golden Boot.[82] He also made the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament alongside striking partner Torres.[83]

2009 Confederations Cup and World Cup 2010 qualification

Spain's first match during qualification for the 2010 World Cup was against Bosnia and Herzegovina where Villa scored the only goal of the game. He would go on to score four goals in Spain's next three games, including a last minute winner against Belgium. Another goal during a friendly match against Chile saw him end the year with 12 goals, breaking Raúl's record of 10 goals held since 1999.[85] Villa began 2009 with a goal against England in a 2–0 friendly,[86] with this goal, he broke another record and became the first Spanish international to have scored in 6 consecutive games, seeing off records set by Telmo Zarra and Ladislao Kubala.[87] Speaking of the goal he said, "I am very happy with the goal. Truth is, I really want to see it on TV. The record is very nice. I would never have imagined in years that I would be able to obtain it. I am very proud and I hope I can continue breaking records".[87]

On 1 June 2009, Vicente del Bosque named Villa in his 23 man squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.[88] In a friendly match before the tournament, Villa scored his second international hat-trick against Azerbaijan, nearly exactly a year after his hat-trick against Russia at Euro 2008.[89] He debuted at the Confederations Cup with a goal, the last of the five goals in Spain's 5–0 victory over New Zealand,[90] while in the next game he scored the decisive goal against a defensive Iraqi team.[91] Against South Africa, he missed a penalty, but within a minute made up for the miss by putting Spain ahead, helping them equal the records of most consecutive wins and most consecutive matches undefeated before making way for Pablo Hernández.[92] The goal was his last of the tournement but was enough to see him win the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Shoe, he would also go on to make the team of the tournament.[93]

On 5 September 2009, Villa added two more goals to his goal tally for Spain, while assisting twice during the World Cup Qualifier against Belgium, in A Coruña. The match ended 5–0 to Spain where Villa also had a first-half penalty saved by the 30 year old A.S. Bari goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet.[95] He finished the year with his sixth international brace against Austria in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, the setting where Spain were crowned European Champions the previous year. With these two goals, Villa equalled the record he set last year of most goals scored in one calendar year by a Spanish international.[96] Spain's first match in 2010 came on March 3, against France at the Stade de France. Villa scored the opening goal in a game which Spain went on to win 2-0.[97]

Succeeding Raúl as Spain's number 7

The Spanish media has often compared Villa with Raúl, to the point where Villa was accused of taking the #7 jersey away from the Real Madrid player. In March 2009, Villa spoke out saying, "I have not taken anything away from anybody, I was simply playing well for my club and the national coach gave me an opportunity. Too much has been said about the number issue. I’m not looking to cause any controversy. In fact, Raul and I were in the national squad together in the past. I haven’t forced anybody out." When questioned on whether the whole uproar created over Raúl's omission was affecting him personally, he said, "I’ve never liked it because I think it has been damaging for the both of us. We’ve always got on well together whenever we’ve met up for international duty, so I’m not concerned. I just work hard for myself. All I want is to be in the squad for every game, to have the Spain badge on my chest and to score as many goals as I can."[98]

Speaking of Raúl's record with the Spanish national team as the nation's leading top scorer, Villa said, "I've got 25 goals but he's got 44 and is still playing. I'd be delighted to reach that tally as I'd help the national team achieve great victories and, in many years' time, I could see my name on a [scorers' list] that another young lad was trying to beat. That would be great."[98]

In February 2010, Bernd Schuster was asked if Raúl did not favour Villa moving to Real Madrid, to which he responded with "I have a cough", this caused many to believe that he was implying the rumour to be true.[99] Villa firmly ridiculed that idea by saying "It is impossible that a player with as much class on and off the pitch as Raul would speak poorly of me. I have always had a good relationship with Raul, even though we have hardly met on international duty. Before the Euros, the club told me what my asking price was, and I thought they were going to sell me. But when I returned from my vacations, Vicente Soriano said that he did not want me to leave Valencia. That removed all doubt for me."[100]

Personal life

David Villa supporting the "Doi la cara pola oficialidá" campaign

In 2003 Villa married his childhood sweetheart Patricia (who had also been a footballer in her teenage years).[8] On 7 December 2005, their first child was born, a girl who they named Zaida.[12] Her name is engraved on his personalised Adidas F50's,[8] while one boot bears the Spanish flag, the other has the Asturian flag.[101] On 18 August 2009, his second child was born, a daughter named Olaya.[102]